Variable thickness and initially curved flexures for improved flexure mechanisms

Variable thickness and initially curved flexures for increased support stiffness and minimal stress

Master thesis (2023)

Authors

F.W.F. Colin Mechanical Engineering

Contributors

A. Yasir Mechatronic Systems Design - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering (supervisor 1)
J.L. Herder Precision and Microsystems Engineering (supervisor 1)
G. Radaelli Mechatronic Systems Design - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering (supervisor 2)
Erwin Mulder ASML (supervisor 1)
Faculty
Mechanical Engineering
Copyright: © 2023 Flip Colin
Compliant Mechanism Support Stiffness Parasitic Motion Stiffness Ratio Range of Motion Stress Minimization Flexure Optimization Constant Support Stiffness
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Published Date

25-04-2023

Language

English

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Faculty

Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

Flexure mechanisms are widely utilized in precision mechanisms, but their practical use is limited by three major factors, namely restricted range of motion, parasitic motion, and significant reduction in support stiffness when deflected. To address this limitation, in this research the potential of variable thickness flexures in minimizing the aforementioned issues is evaluated. Two novel parametrizations are utilized to optimize these variable thickness flexures, which are then compared to their commonly used constant thickness counterparts. Furthermore, initially curved flexures have been found to be promising in optimizing mechanisms with high performance in terms of parasitic motion and stiffness tuning. Three novel designs are proposed and optimized in this research for improved performance. As variable thickness showed promising results, these newly designed mechanisms are further optimized by incorporating variable thickness into the initially curved flexure mechanisms. The outcomes of this study demonstrate a significant enhancement in terms of support stiffness and range of motion without compromising other important factors.